Maxon AD-900 Analog Delay

Time, Repeat, Level.

About as basic as an analog delay gets. The sweet spots on the Repeat knob for oscillation is very easy to find. Trim pots on the inside (I wouldnt recommend tweaking them much, if even at all. I did a little fine tuning to the decay of my signal for a bit of customization).

The best delay I've ever heard/played/owned. The tail of the echo is very smooth: the short repeats are clear and the longer they go on the more they turn into fading memories that massage themselves into your subconscious. A brilliant experience for any listener or musician.

I've never encountered an issue, and surprisingly it reacts very consistently with the change up of different amplifiers, guitars, and sound levels. I can always trust this amplifier to do what I say, like a well trained German shepherd.

n/a

Out of all of the pedals I've owned over the years (Klon, Matchless, Mutron, other Maxon, Ibanez, Fulltone etc etc) this is literally the only one that I kept. I sold all of my pedals off, even custom built ones. This one made it through debt, school, bands, girlfriends, jobs. I'll take this one to my grave.

Like falling off a log.

This is the two chip MN 3005 unit, which was a deliberate choice. I went looking for a clone for the Boss DM-2, (my favorite, which also has the MN 3005 chip) but with longer delay time. In my opinion, this is the unit. After much A/Bing the two, I sold my Boss DM-2. The Boss features 300ms of delay time; the Maxon has between 500 and 600ms. Sonically, they are incredibly similar (at least with my rig). I use two vintage Gretsches, one with Filtertrons and one with DeArmonds. I run them through a '63 Fender Bassman.

Seems very solid; no worries.

Maxon does answer questions on website quickly and thoroughly, although this thing is out of production, and out of warranty.

I bought this unit out of Japan on Ebay, fully intending to send it to Analogman for true bypass, and that is just what I did. It runs at 12 volts (more headroom), but I run a Voodoo lab PedalPower 2 Plus, so you only need to flip a switch to adjust for this. It is positive center on the power input jack, but you can get a tiny adapter for your power supply. It is larger than your average pedal, but I don't mind this. Supposedly, this cuts down on "cross talk," resulting in a quieter pedal. In my opinion, this is THE old school dark repeat delay pedal. It is exactly what I was looking for. Yes, I have A/Bed against the AD 999. They are VERY similar, with the 999 obviously winning out in the longer delay category. Tonally speaking, I think the 900 is better in the tone of the repeats, but I'd hate to have to live off the difference. I find it quite musical, and it does the analog delay thing better than any other (and I've tried quite a few).

as easy as it gets... typical 3 knob operation..time.mix..repeats

Recently ordered a used ad900 after buying a "true bypass" boutique delay..from one of the myriad of pedal builders claiming to have this art down..It was noisy...adding an airy hiss to my signal..And boosted the highend...and the overall volume...while sounding flappy and harsh...Simply not musical...
After all the glowing reviews on the ad900...and A killer price...I couldnt refuse..
Whether through my clubman 35...Dr. Z kt45...Orange Rockerverb..or the fender amps...it soesnt matter...Absolutely no tone coloration at all...Absolutely no noise all at...Warm fat..haunting echoes...
Simply perfect...I'm starting to question the true bypass craze...When some of them are clearly coloring your tone...And there's no loud pop either...
I can get all the sounds I need....

just got it...but it's used...and works perfectly...
I've never had issue with any maxon pedal..so..

never needed em

tested against many others....They are all going up for sale....
The only complaint is: 12v vs 9v.... Needs a seperate adapter with certain power supply units...

As everyone says, three knobs and no surprises there.

Dark. Degrades. It's analog. You won't get chimey sounds out of this nor well-defined high-gain palm mutes. It's a very warm, musical sound that will make your lead and solo tones a mile deep. For rhythm work I just use a few quiet repeats to fatten things up, the decaying repeats provide a lovely rich grumble to support any higher-register voice leading in the chords.I use it exclusively in the FX loop of my Mesa Rectifier Preamp into a Mesa 20/20 power amp and a pair of Avatar 1x12 cabs. My main axe is a super-versatile Yamaha Image Custom.

A really upper-mid-heavy, snarly higher-gain tone really cuts through the repeats, sometimes to the point you barely hear them anymore. Conversely, a big fat dark tone will make for very muddy sounds as the repeats decay. These are the limits-- however, they can make for versatile effects once you figure them out.

It really does have its own sound-- it's virtually an instrument unto itself. This can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.

I don't notice any tone suckage, though my preamp's fx loop does not do 100 per cent wet mix so that may be why.

I generally play post-heavy (Sigur Ros down through Mogwai to Isis, Pelican, and some stoner stuff.)

So far it's dependable, I've jammed with it a fair bit. It seems solid.

No opinion.

It's definitely a limited effect for the price and compared to digital boxes; you have to be wanting to make this part of your sound. I've got a pretty big gear budget, so I would probably buy another if it wandered away, or maybe I'd look into the AD-999.

If you use a lot of delay and can only justify one delay unit, this probably isn't it unless you're an analog cultist like me. I'm very happy with it but I can see where a lot of people wouldn't be.

Simplicity. Three knobs, Delay Time, Repeat and Delay Level.
There is one but you don't need it.

Perfect smooth analog delay. The quality of each echo deteriates just like a tape loop.
Unlike my BOSS DD3 the delay is very musical and in no way harsh even if you did in to your guitar.
I use it with a Two Rock Jet, in-line.

Very high build quality. Should last for years.

Don't know.

I play blues and use the MAXON for a slap back echo a la Robben Ford.
It really fattens up the tone and give a spacious sound.
Best delay I have tried so far. I was going to invest in a Fulltone tape echo but I am very happy with this unit and it is maintenace free. Only problem is it is a bit pricey, but this is probably due to the custom chips which are used.
Great pedal.

No markings around knobs to reset favorite settings. Otherwise easy.

Analog delay. Thats what it sounds like. Analog delay. Nice though. Repeats degrade nicely and noise slowly becomes prominent on longer delays. Thick but spacial.

Ive got a strat - 59 tweed princeton - strobostomp - ts9 original (but with the "bad chip" hahahaha) -tonebone british - ad900- catalinbread semaphore

PS Yep- sucks tone. Sorry. Use it in the loop. Notice- still a 10 rating. Just sounds great. Have analog man mod it for REAL TRUE BYPASS. That was some Maxon BS!!!!

Bought it from Japan. 2 chip version. I didn't even look at the ad999- headroom is VERY important people!!! Bottom line- I love it!

Tank. Bigger than it needs to be though. Great quiet switch. I have NO worries!

dont know.

The reviews here are for the most part right on- great sounding but a touch "pink floyd-ish". Dark and degrading. YES slight ringing overtone at times. BUT all of it is very musical. I didn't chance it and got the 2 chip Japanese version- MAINLY because Japanese companies LOVE to keep the quality a little higher at home. It may not sound different than the 4 chip but I wouldn't be suprised if it did!!! It makes me VERY suspicious when the Maxon website addresses this issue so better safe than sorry. Bottom line- Worth every penny.

So easy 3 knobs

Dont believe any negatives this is the best delay out there ..100%

Not caved in yet

Never used them

This is the business , I would say it is in a class of its own , if a Fulltone TTE or a WEM Valve copycat could transform into a box this size , I would choose them , but as they cannot this is the only choice for me , and I am the tone master , I would notice the difference if you changed you strings 10 minutes ago ,and 20 minutes ago !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm taking a point off for the AD-900 needing its own adapter.

There is a slight metallic ring accompanying the original note and repeats in some cases. Overall, the pedal sounds great, but it is not as "smooth" as my rack-mount Ibanez AD202, which sounds equally "organic."

I AB'd the AD-900 and AD-999 for two hours. See the details in the "Ovarall Rating" section.

It seems that a lot has been written about how the Maxon AD-900 is far superior to the Maxon AD-999. Well, I just had to hear for myself. I bought one of each, and I AB?d them for about two hours. I set them up with a multi-loop true bypass box so that I could switch between pedals almost instantaneously.

First let me say that both the AD-900 and AD-999 sound great. I used to have an Ibanez AD9 reissue, and that pedal isn?t even in the same ballpark as the Maxons as far as tone goes. Of course the AD9 was a lot cheaper. Anyway, although both of the Maxons sound great, I do still prefer the sound of my vintage Ibanez AD202 rack-mount unit to both of them. Of course, pedals are a hell of a lot more convenient than my rack-mount unit, so I won?t compare the Maxons to it. I will note, however, that the Maxons both have longer delay times than the AD202 and other vintage rack-mount analog delays, so even if you don?t mind using rack units, you might still want to check out the AD-900 and AD-999.

Okay, so which pedal is better, the AD-900 or the AD-999? My conclusion is that neither pedal is better. The AD-900 is better in some ways, and the AD-999 is better in others. I will describe the advantages and disadvantages of each pedal below. In summary, however, the AD-999 seems to be the better choice overall for my purposes. That?s right? I AB?s them for two hours, and I?m keeping the AD-999. While the AD-900 may be better for some people?s purposes, I really think that it is a bit over-hyped. If you ask me, even the AD-999 is overpriced, and the AD-900 is drastically overpriced. In my opinion, I would say that most people who are thinking about getting one of these pedals should go with the AD-999 unless cost is really no object, in which case a fraction of guitarists might find the AD-900 to be a better suit their tastes. Of course, if you don?t mind incurring some transaction costs, AB them for yourself! Now on with the details?

News flash: The AD-900 sucks tone!!! I was really surprised how much sparkle the AD-900 cut out of my signal. It didn?t even matter if it was on or off. Don?t get me wrong; it didn?t drastically degrade my guitar?s tone. However, you?d think a pedal that costs this much would preserve a little bit more of your signal in its ?natural state.? I really didn?t believe it at first, so I even reversed the position of the two pedals to make sure that it wasn?t my bypass box that was messing things up. It wasn?t. The AD-900 dulled the tone of my Fat Strat running into my Traynor YCV40WR even when it was turned off. The AD-999 did NOT have this problem. The benefit of the AD-999?s true-bypass switching seems to be more than hype, and the AD-999 transparently passes through the dry signal when it is on, as well.

The biggest advantage of the AD-900 is in the tone of the very first repeat. It is very hard to explain. The first repeat from the AD-900 is just a little bit ?truer? to the played note than the first repeat from the AD-999. ?Warm? and ?dark? are pretty vague terms, and sometimes they seem to be used as synonyms when people talk about delay pedals, but to my ears, the first repeat from the AD-900 is slightly warmer and ?sweeter? than the one from the AD-999, which is darker. This difference, however, was not noticeable to me beyond the very first repeat. Also, the difference was only obvious when delay times got fairly long --- above three tenths of a second or so.

Close your eyes and use your ears. 3 knobs. - lots of good delay sounds

Fantastic!!! I also own the way huge aqua puss which is also a fantastic delay pedal. Its very hard to say which one is best. The ad900 is a strat and the aqau puss a les paul - both fantastic.
Mine is the rare 2 chip MN3005.
Mine is not noisy at all. I'm using it with diezel amps. Top sound!

no problems yet

no problems yet

Super delay pedal. I use to own the Ibanez ad80 which is also a great analog delay pedal. But since I bought this along with the aqua puss - i don't need any other delay pedals

three knobs to turn- very straight forward.

Sounds wonderful. I've run it in every possible position in my effects chain, including after
a sizable clean gain boost. It has terrific headroom. If you turn the delay time knob while
holding a note, it creates these wild pitch bending sounds. The other guitar player in my
band has one too, so we have taken to turning the other person's delay time knob in the
middle of a song. It's just too fun.

I use an egnater tol 100 combo- ad 900-keeley compressor-chicago iron octavian.
All the delays I've tried since buying the maxon come up considerably short. I tried
the lower priced maxons as well. In my experience, they weren't nearly as good as the
ad-900.

Tape echo has a great sound, but it costs more than the maxon, not to mention that
tape wear is inevitable and has moving parts that will eventually wear as well.

mine has been dropped, spilled on and stomped by my cruddy shoes. I even smashed one of
the knobs off (whoops). It still works perfectly.

It does have a unique 12v adaptor that could go, having fried several 9v adaptors by
plugging into a clubs dirty power. One night, a surge killed all of my adaptors except the
maxon. I prefer batteries for this reason, but the maxon hasn't let me down.

never needed em'

I hate to give out a bunch of perfect scores, but I really think this thing is at the top of the
heap. I guess if you're into really long delay times, you might search elsewhere, but that
wouldn't interest me. If it were stolen, I would surely look for it's purple-pink face with
only two knobs. Buy a new one? Don't ask- all these toys have already cost me more than
my car. (1989 camry)

This pedal is very easy to use. 3 knob setup like other analog delays. It uses a 12 volt adapter which gives it more headroom, but you can still power this baby with Pedal Power 2 if you want. Just use one of the ACA outlets and set it for 12 volts. Then, you need to get a reverse polarity cable from Digital Music Corp. The AD900 is center-tip positive, hence the special cable. Digital Music sent me 2 or 3 for free. So no more bitching on this site about having to use the wallwart...you don't! I power mine this way...no problems!

Sound quality is excellent. I also have an AD80 and I prefer that for shorter delay times because it's easier to fine tune the delay time. the AD900 has more headroom and is probably a bit smoother. Pretty tough to beat this pedal for tone quality.

This thing is well built, but out of production...makes me nervous every time I take it somewhere!

Talked to them once about some clock noise I was getting from the AD80. They pretty much referred me to Analogman whom in turn referred me to Howard Davis in NYC. Once a pedal is out of production it seems like you are SOL. It's almost as if they weren't responsible for the AD80 anymore. So God forbid if my AD900 acts up...

I play all styles and this pedal is really good. It has more headroom than most any other delay that I know of and really outperforms them at stage level volumes. Anything can sound good in your bedroom...it's when you get it on the gig that you find out the truth...the AD900 delivers the goods...highly recommended!

twiddle the knobs until you are pleased with the sound.

I have to chime in on "anonymous's" comments below, he raises some interesting points....I own and use both the AD-9 and the ad-900 in my rig.....i think they are both excellent delay's. I have gone through a multitude of delays over the last few years chasing tones, searching for ease of use and feel I can speak from some experience. I also have been playing for 25+ years and currently play out regulary in a classic rock/GB band. I've used every digital/analog delay out there..recently bought and sold the Ibanez ad9 ( distorted too easily, not sweet sounding ). I've had the Yamaha UD stomp,rack units, the line 6 dl4 you name it...but I always come back to the warmth of analog and the wonderful sound of these two pedals. I tried the ad 999 as well.....but returned it. I just did'nt like it. It just distorts much to easily and had a fuzzy sound and does not have the warmth and clarity of the ad 900 and ad 9. Maybe the newer chips aren't as sweet or something.

In my rig I set the ad 900 for longer delays and the ad9 for shorter slapback sounds. I agree that the volume drop is a non issue on the ad 9..........it's so negligible that it's just not a problem at all in my opinion....i feel that there's more of a volume drop with the line 6 dl4 than with the ad9. If your sitting in your bedroom every night with your ear next to the speaker you may notice it...but trust me it's a non issue, very, very neglibible. Also the shutter effect on the on/off switch on the ad9 is alleviated by just stomping quickly....non issue as well. Where I completely disagree with the review below is relative to the sound quality of the ad 900....If i had to choose just one delay to take to a gig it would be the ad900 not the ad9.....overall it's a better sounding delay.....for one simple reason, the increased headroom provided by the use of 12volts rather than the 9 volts used in the ad 9. It's clearer to my ears,can handle hot pickups and strong distort boxes or loud compressors better, it's warmer and more intangibly musical, and more versitile because of the longer delay times. And the switching is flawless and smooth........now of course there are many varibles...guitar, amp, other pedals, your ears..........belive me I love the ad9, it sounds great for analog delay up to 300ml.....it's warm, clear and articulate for an analog chip..........but the ad 900 is just a bit better in all categories......perhaps the person below got a bum ad 900 or something. And for the record I dont play nor do I want to play any pink floyd tunes.......that's not the sound I'm going for.....

Also for the record I use american deluxe strats with SCN pickups and a gibson johnny a signature hollowbody into a mesa lonestar with other high end "boutique" effects and all George L cables.

Maxon has a great track record ( except perhaps for the one the person bought below ).

No worries

..........you just can't wrong if you looking to bask in the warm glow and haunting, analog ambiance of this brilliant sounding delay......if i could have only one effect on a desert island...this ad 900 would certainley be the one....

Pretty easy to get a decent sound out of it. Annoying to have to plug in a special 12-volt AC adaptor. Very smooth, no volume drops or switching noise.

Used with Gibson Les Paul Standard into high-end Crate tube amp. With other Maxon effects.

Hate to say it, but I have to disagree. I got an AD-900 thinking that it was the be-all-end-all of analog delay. It was too dark for me. Maybe somebody messed with the trim pots; wasn't me. It was very natural, very transparent, and I guess in a sense that was what I disliked about it...it was muddy because I couldn't hear the difference between the original signal and the repeats. Maybe that's what you're after. It was too Pink Floyd sounding for me.

So I got an AD-9 instead. Bingo! Winner. Much brighter, and very easy to distinguish the repeats AS repeats. Therefore, much clearer. The AD-9 has almost a sparkle to it, a 3D-ness and a life that that AD-900 didn't, especially when cranked up to 300ms.

The AD-900 is not bad, but it's missing something. If you want Pink Floyd sounds, get this. If you want something more versatile, get the AD-9. Yes, the AD-900 has twice the delay time, but I think that the tonal palette it has limits the range of songs you can use it on. Maybe that's just me. I was initially scared off of the AD-9 by a review complaining about volume loss and a shutter effect, but those turned out to be non-issues for me.

Got it used, trusted it fine.

Kevin at Godlyke RULES!!!!

He RULES!!!!!

Any questions? He RULES!!!!

Maybe I wasn't clear the first time.

He RULES!!!!

Enh. Too dull sounding for an analog delay. 301-600ms range wasn't even useful to my music (rock and metal.) If you get one, floyd-head, put it in the effects loop. It will sound SO much better. Running it in front of distortion is a mistake. In the end, I didn't keep it. Maybe this is what you're looking for. But sometimes, I think, there's such a thing as "too transparent", where your effects work against you because it's hard to distinguish the processing. They are doing SOMETHING, right? They are EFFECTS, right? In the end, we're only pleasing ourselves...my wife (whom I love dearly) can't tell the difference between a wah and a chorus. I like my effects natural, but to sound like something.

Easy

See Jason on 5/5/04 - I couldn't say it better than that - absolutely amazing warmth and beauty, almost subconscious in it's effect. I tried to replicate it with a deluxe memory man - sounding great - but always sounded like an 'effect' - the ad900 melts into your tone, becoming one with it. it's absolutely beautiful. I've tried a tube maestro echoplex - the best ones - which sound phenomenal also, but the maxon gives is just a different sound. my 4 perfect delays for differnent days - maxon ad900, echoplex, deluxe memory man, a good digital delay for what you can't get with analog!

been working great for awhile on my pedalboard

never had to deal

Magnificent

3 knobs, two hands, whats the deal?

Maxon obviously 'voiced' this pedal for a fat, warm sound. I happend to like that! Very transparent when dialed in correctly, super quiet, flawless! Adds a 'haunting' spacial effect to my Fender's reverb, very cool! Very musical and worth every penny (note: you have to know how to use a delay pedal, though)

Over one year of constant use and no worries...

Don't know....Don't speak Japanese....

I have been playing for over 33 years and have used it all...(echoplexes (solid state and tube), Chandler delays, tons of digital delays, Line 6 delays, MXR analog delay, DOD analog delays etc....for me, this pedal is the best of my experience.

Very easy and simple. It will oscillate if you ask politely but not as easily or fast as my vintage AD-80.

No noise at all, no loss of tone, very very transparent and switching is as smooth as butter. Which makes this unit a dream to use, if only all my pedals were as well engineered as this one.

The sound is very organic, rich and buttery. It is also very clean and unobstrusive(my original AD-80 will distort a bit which brings an interesting vintage vibe.)

It does sound beautiful but is a tad darker than my AD-80 or any other delay I own. This loss of highs is often very nice and cozy but for some application I miss definition wich interfer with my playing. This is what some people call muddiness I guess.

If you play with a warm sounding guitar into a bright sounding amp, this pedal will sound like heaven. If you do the opposite, you might get frustrated with the loss in the high frequencies. Try before you buy unless you know exactly what you are buying.... especially at the price it is today.

Oh..and by the way, this pedal souds TERRIFIC direct into the board.

This will not be my one and only delay. When I need a warm analog and close to tape delay sound, especially going higher than 300ms this is definitely the top of the pile. However when I use lots of repeats or have to get a twangy slapback kind of sound I pick the AD-80 (AD-9 would be fine I guess). For more modern sounds requiring clarity, I will rely on something else.

Classic 3 knob configuration: Delay time, Repeat, Delay level. Obviously a piece of cake to use.

Four original, no longer-in-prodution Panasonic MN3008 bucket brigade chips are the brains of this unit, allowing you to dial in anywhere from 40ms to 600ms of the absolute warmest, smoothest, most creamy and dreamy sounding analog delay that your unbelievably lucky ears will EVER have the ultimate pleasure of hearing. The repeats from this little gem fall from heaven like a warm analog rain that you just want to stay under forever and get drenched in. This is positively without a doubt the delay of the gods.

Built to last. I'm sure that it will be around for someone else to steal after I am dead.

They answered all of my questions. No problems here.

The AD900 totally destroys every other type of delay, be it analog or digital, that I have ever heard in my 20-plus years of playing electric guitar. Nothing else comes close in terms of pure, rich, organic, mind blowing sound. To me it represents the absolute zenith of tone. I bow in reverence to Maxon for creating the only thing I know of in this life that is truly PERFECT. Yes, it seems expensive until you realize that perfection can never be achieved cheaply. Ultimately, price is meaningless. Just pay it and live happily ever after. Nuff said.

Really easy to use and get a great sound. Three knobs: delay, repeats, and level. The manual is pretty good in that it does make some suggestions as to how to dial it in. Really not neccesary, though, because it is a pretty simple pedal. 600ms. delay time, which is really long for an analog pedal. Definitely adds to the AD900's versitility.

As far as analog sound quality goes, this thing is sweet! Nice delays that are warm, organic, and natural sounding. I've never been happy with any delay before, but this one really changed my opinion! I use this pedal at the end of this chain: Various Guitars-> Keeley TS9->Keeley Comp->Mojo Vibe-> AD900-> Various Amps. Sounds great with anything I've paired it up with. Highly recommended!!!

Seems dependable, though you never know. Runs on the 12V adaptor, so I guess if that were ever lost or broken, it could be difficult to find a replacement.

Haven't ever dealt with Godlyke, or the Japanese distributor. I bought this from Larry at Soulcactus Sound in Arizona, and he's always been good to me.

I play music that ranges from the blues to rock, and this pedal is a great compliment for these genres. If this pedal were stolen, I'd be pretty heartbroken, considering their price and their limited availablity. I really like the warm delays this pedal adds to my sound; compared to digital, well, I don't think there is a comparison here. One last thing, these are expensive, but you get what you pay for and your ears will thank you.

Three knobs. A no-brainer

I play an ESP Strat copy, a Fender Rhodes and a violin through this and other quality effects into a Twin or into the house PA. Sounds superbly warm and organic. I guess part of the analog thing is that there is a degree of hiss added to the repeated notes, audible when the level of delay in relation to your signal is very high. I back off the treble and it becomes part of the organic-ness of the sound. Pink Floyd is in there. The Edge is in there. I'm in there.

No trouble at all. Relies on a 12v adapter.

Godlyke Distributing answered my email promptly and courteously. I hope my pedal doesn't break as I understand the Panasonic chips are scarce.

OK- here's the reason I wanted to chime in- Godlyke, Maxon's American distributor asks for $450 for a new AD-900. MusicToyz sells it for $399.95. If you look hard enough on e-bay, someone will eventually offer it for $290, shipped "direct from Japan". That's how I aquired my little darling. It arrived with a Japanese manual and an invoice from Ishibashi Music in Tokyo. I went on their website, ishibashi-music.com just to see how much they are willing to part with it for. ASTOUNDING! 23,040 Yen which translates into $193.88 by today's exchange rate. $214.88 with shipping to the US. Now, there's a lot of hype about the AD-900 and I think it's well deserved. It sounds gorgeous and has the second longest delay time of any analog delay pedal I know of (600ms beaten out by the 800ms of the Moogerfooger MF104). But I think that the mark-up rate is absurd and it's a shame that a few greedy people are putting this pedal beyond the reach of most players. Unlike the Moogerfooger and the Aqua-Puss, the AD-900 is still being produced and can be had for up to half what people are asking for, with just a tiny bit of research on the buyer's part. If you are thinking about getting it, by all means DO! But get it at a fair price and send me the difference.

This pedal is very easy to use. Typical three-knob setup like most other analog delays. Uses a 12v adapter. The manual offers some basic settings but you really don't need it.

The sound quality is superb. The best sounding delay out there right now. I've used it live and in sessions. No noise whatsoever. Maybe the previous reviewer had a lemon or something. I can't see how you couldn't get a great sound out of this unit. The delay is warm and fat. The Dan-Echo is okay but doesn't come close.

I've never had a problem after about 6 months of regular use. It seems very well built.

I've never had to deal with them.

I do agree that this pedal is too expensive. I would recommend the Maxon AD80 or the Dan-Echo if you're on a budget. But if you want a REAL analog pedal this is it. The Dan-Echo is digital with a hi-cut knob that "simulates" an analog sound. Cheaper, yes, but it doesn't sound as good. The Maxon is the real deal, baby. This pedal won a pick award from Guitar Player magazine because of its tone and 600 ms delay time. I think that $200-250 would be a more reasonable price.

There is no GOOD sound in it. Very easy to find a mediocre one.

Sound is very generic and not particularly quiet. Using in the effects loop with a Rivera Suprema amp. Guitars mainly Tom Anderson Classic, Fender Custom Shop Strat, Hamer Special. The Dan Echo at a third of the price is a much more realistic and pleasant sounding analog type delay.

Probably dependable. There aren't any moving parts.

Eric Johnson type Rock. The usual assortment of Hendrix , Gary Moore, Satriani etc. Been playing 40yrs(started very young). I have a few delays,Lexicon , Rocktron, Roland, Dan Echo. This is the Worst. Terrible value for the money.

simple intuitive layout. every setting sounds cool. like with any effect all you have to do is come up with the right setting to apply to the right guitar part.

sound quality is superb. you can't hear when you kick it in or out. perfectly seamless. very quiet. definitely warms up your tone, but in a great way. very different type of delay than a digital delay, and has it's own application. IMHO this pedal is hands down the best analog delay out there.

construction is top notch. i also use a maxon PT999 phaser which is also flawlessly built. never had a problem for a couple of years now.

analog delay in general sound sweet to me. but this maxon pedal just sounds great and is a notch above the others out there. i also own a digital delay for variation and for a wholely different effect. the pedal has ample amounts of memory or whatever you want to call it. which gives you that amazing spaced out sounds. but it really can cover the spectrum from slapback to spacey incredibly well. very toneful. if you gotz the cash and you luvz the sound of analog delay -- this be the one for you.

Very easy to use. Just as easy as any other delay I've used.

Absolutely the best Delay I have ever used! Period. I've owned a ton of Ibanez, Maxon, etc. High end, low end you name it and after selling one of the original 2 chip models, I purchased a newer 4 chip model. It is the same beatiful organic deep delay I remembered. The AD 80, which I used in between the AD 900 is great, especially if you don't have an extra $100 laying around but the AD 900 IS IT!

Should last, like all the other Maxon stuff I have owned.

Never dealt with them so I can't say either way?

If you want the most organic, longest delays possible get one. If your on a budget, get a Dan-Echo. In between get a AD 80.

Easy to get a good sound, a little harder to get a particular sound that you are looking for. I guess you just need to play with it for a while and get used to it. As simple as any other delay pedal. Sometimes it's hard to hear exactly what's changing when adjusting the knobs without turning the delay level way up first, then turning down to the level you want. This is what I like about it though, it's kind of organic that way...

I use a SG copy with Barden Humbuckers into various effects into a Marshall DSL100 (I only use the clean "plexi" channel). I use this in line and haven't tried it through the effects loop since it sounds so good in line and I don't want to run 2 extra wires to my pedalboard for 1 effect. This thing sounds so clean (for analog) and natural. It is definitly fat. You can get almost a reverb sound from it if you adjust it right. I have a tube reverb on the amp and this pedal sounds just as good (a little different, but just as fat). This pedal is very transparant with your tone. It doesn't mess with it. You can't hear this pedal turn on like some pedals, it kinda blends right in. I love it!

It seems tough, I just got it though so who knows... Definitly not cheap feeling. I trust it will hold up and I don't have a backup since I don't use a delay all the time. I could finish a gig without it.

Never dealt with them, they make awesome products though...

I play psychedelic jazz, blues, rock, bluegrass. If you want a fat delay, this one is great. I wouldn't go as far as saying that Digital Delays suck. They have a time and place for them and there is a time and place for this delay. There are some nice effects you can't get with this delay that you can with a Digital Delay, and of course, vice versa. I personally prefer the analog for most of my applications, and I don't think I'll ever buy another delay unless I lose this one or it breaks. This pedal is definitly over-priced, but I have this habit of buying what I feel sounds best no matter the price (within reason). Also, I hardly ever will use more than 300ms with this, so if your shopping around, you may want to get an AD80 which is usually a little more than half the price of this bad boy and will sound very close to the same (if your input is not too hot!) I must give it an 8 for the price.

The thing is easy to use. The last knob is the most important - Delay Level. I set this so the subsequent echos are softer than the initial note/s and fade out so there is no anoying overlap. Very Nice.

I'm using a 1970 ES335 and a Carvin DC 200 into a Hughs & Kettner Tube edition 20 watt amp. I use use different pedals at different time; Big Muff, MRX Envelope filter, Fultone Distortion Plus and Fat Boost, Maxon compression, Boss GT-6, etc. I found that the delay cause the distortion chanel of the amp to sound weird and broken up so I decided to try putting it through the effects loop and man, is sounds SWEET!! Warm, rich, and Phat. Like honey. It does tend to take the volume down just slightly and evens out the notes a bit (a little compression?) when it's on, but overall, definitely worth the money. I don't know what I would have done, though, without a effects loop. So keep that in mind.

It seems quite sturdy and too expensive to have a back up so I'll use a Boss RV-3 if it goes down - but there's NO comparison between the two. I only hope the latter never gets used.

I hope I never have to find out.

Running through the effects loop I don't think anything could sound better. Too bad they are sooo expensive because everyone should be able to use one if they're into delay.

3 knobs and a quiet switch, no problem. Manual is as useful as you would imagine, covering all their reissue pedals in one go.

I don't think it is true bypass but I cannot hear any loss of tone when it is off but in line. In use it is very satisfying. Lovely natural sounding repeats, gradually decaying and turning brown like falling Autumn leaves, as opposed to the cryogenically frozen stabs of digital sound I've heard too much.
It also self-oscillates at extreme settings which I personally like, but if you don't you needn't go that far.
I don't want to do the whole gear thing, but it's last after the usual suspects and before a Marshall JTM 30 and it gives no problems.
Artists? Well,when I first used it, Gilmour came to mind.

Seems pretty tough, knobs are semi-protected by the shape of the pedal. Have only had it a few months though.
Even if I could afford a backup, I think I'd be ok without, but then for me it is not as integral a thing as say, a good overdrive, which does have a backup.

No exp.

Play rock, trippy stuff, alternative, classical (goes real nice with a classical guitar), fits in fine. Probably not good for Frippy stuff but then I guess you need much longer delay times for that.
I think I'd buy it again, couldn't find anything similar that I liked.
I don't really like the wall wart, but I don't know if putting the transformer in the case would make it noisy.
I would love to know what the trim-pots do inside, because I'd kind of like to mess around with them.
Oh yes, it helps me make music. This is a Good Pedal.

Easy as 123, there are many awesome sounds to be discovered in this little gem. Manual is typically bogus, I can't imagine never needing to refer to it as this pedal is like peanuts to figure out. I'd also like to address the guy who says this pedal sounds muddy. Let me tell you something, if this pedal sounds muddy than it's definitely your setup (amp and subsequent effects) that's causing the muddiness, not this pedal. Perhaps your Dr. Z amp is the culprit, that's not to say it's a bad amp. On the contrary, Z's are superior sounding tone monsters! However, you really need to crank them to get cookin' at low volumes the amp may sound muddy in it's self. So please try a few different arrangements with this pedal before slandering it's worthiness as a sweet sounding toneful analog delay. One thing that should be noted in general: if your tone is weak to begin with, no pedal can save it. In the case of analog delays your bad tone just gets repeated and well, you do the math. Also the nature of analog delays is that they shave a bit of the highs of each progressive repeat. EQ settings on the amp and your guitar will make noticeable changes to your tone also, experiment a little!

Now, here's the deal: the ad-900 sounds phenomenal as analog delays go. I've had (or still have) quite a few analog/sim delays (DM2's, MoogerFooger MF104,Way Huge Aqua-PuSSy,Dan Echo,Line 6 Dl4, AD80 ) the ad-900 has easily made it way to the top of this list. great sounding delay, very lush,round fat and warm. this pedal is tighed in first place with my MF104 but has a more shimmering tone to it...the MF104 is darker but still wonderful. My WH aqua-P is also still a favorite of mine but the delay time is too short for some uses. I find that the ad-900 sound quality matches (if not exceeds) the top analog delays in my arsenal, giving 600ms of delay to boot...the MF104 gives 800ms but again it's tone is of a much different flavor and as such the ad-900 has found a niche to fill and will stay with me always:-) I use this pedal with some distortions, choruses and phasers, needless to say, all boutique grade stuff. a Fulltone clyde wah works wonders with this delay,oh and my favorite combination for overdrive is the ad900 after an SIB vari Drive or Fulltone FD2. I use various amps (Fender Super reverb, Vibro-King, 59 Bassman RI, Tweed Champ, Mesa Mark 4, Bogner Shiva Head/ matched 1 x12 cab and Matchless DC-30 1x12 combo) and the ad900 works it's magic with each amp with unique characteristics. I fine the 6L6 based amps sound airey and the EL84 (class A) to make the dalay sound a little darker and tight (but not muddy). anyway, this is an extremely versatile pedal and great sounding too.

built like a tank

heard good things

The guy who sold this thing to me was pissing the blues, he sold it for the money and swore that when he had to re-group his financial sitcuation he'll try an hunt down another one as soon as humanly possible... But I will treat this pedal like an adopted child and protect it from any harm. I almost bought this pedal at full pop, and it would have been worth it, but was able to save some $ buying it used from a starving musician (like me). Overall, this bitch got soul!

three knobs and a silent switch-on and off. it's a 12v pedal so there is a wall wart that's needed to operate, i don't care.

i've looped this pedal into an (optional) efx of a 2x12 Dr.Z Prescription combo, there's also a fulltone deja vibe2 in the loop right before the AD900. This setup works nicely! other pedals which sit in front of the amp are Fulltone Clyde Wah (Awsome), Menatone Top Boost in a Can, FT Fulldrive 2 and a PE Throb Trem! works great with my overdrive pedals and the Throb trem, creates amazing fat smooth throbs that cannot be described, very mistical sounding stuff. my leads get fattened up to perfection with this pedal, it's never cold or thin sounding. Just warm fat tone! I used to have a DD5 and Akai Head Rush but the AD900 smokes them all! I can't beleive that all this time was wasted using digital crap sounding delays, even though the Akai is supposed to give the analog sound it just doesn't compare to the AD900, you really have to try one for yourself to hear the difference. I haven't tried the Way Huge Analog delay and I don't even care too, the AD900 satisfies my urning for Analog delay in perfect harmony with my setup. No doubt, this pedal smokes.

Built well. i checked the inside and was blown away on how immaculate things are routed, there are many ton pots that can be adjusted and i noticed 4 chips in mine (MN3008 I think?). I've seen 20 year old boss analog delay pedals that are still working pefectly, i don't see any reason this pedal won't stand the test of time also...but time can only tell. i should buy a backup because i can't immagine life without the AD900 but i can't afford another one now:(

no idea?

i've been using delays in my setups for over two decades now and have never come accross anything like this pedal. The delays are always warm and the way delayed sounds tapper off is just wonderfull IMO. these pedal look Way Cool too! overall the AD900 has a very cool vibe and never disappoints. costs allot but does it's job exceptionally well with utter silence (when not in use) and provides upto 600ms of delay time, excellant!

three knobs, no bad sounds, will occilate at higher settings (cool). The 12v pos tip is a pain but my pedal power works with it fine.

I use this with a couple of Don Grosh Guitars then into 535Q>OD820>Supatrem>eball mono volume>AD900>amp switcher> amp (%13). This pedal doesn't change my tone when it is on or off. It is fat and lush and warm. It stomps the other analog delays that I have owned (AD9, Ibanez AD80, DM3). It doesn't sound like Digital or even a digital model of an analog delay. It is the real deal. Those looking for crisp and sharp delays buy a dl4 or a dd5. This pedal makes me sound better.

I like this pedal. I have been through enough delays to know that I will keep this one a long time.

If you can't figure this out than you have serious issues. Sweet spots ar plenty. The manual is simple and very breif, who needs one anyway?? Mine has a 4 chip Panasonic MN3008 configuration.

I use this pedal at home ,mostly, and my setup consists of a few quitars (Fender strats/tele's and a Gibson LP) other pedal used are: Fulltone Clyde, FT Fulldrive, Analogman Clone Clone, Z-VEX OOH-WAH and the Maxon at the end of this chain...just before a Bogner 2/12 Shiva Combo. This is a great setup, it has cost me a lot of dough but well worth it. The AD900 is a classic sounding analog delay, evrything I've been looking for is here in this pedal. Slap back settings are very nice all the way up to 600ms of the fat round analog delay this baby can produce.

seems to built well...we'll see.

haven't had to deal with them

Costs allot but sounds heavenly. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be working my ass off to find another one, then to pay it off. there's nothing like this pedal, it just sound gorgeous:)

Quite simple really. Just plug in the provided 12 volt AC adapter and turn some knobs...Some users are complaining about the "Wall Wart" clutters this pedal and they would prefer a battery operated unit. Well, it just wouldn't be the same now would it? The 12 volt operation of this unit allows for much more head room then a 9v batt. This pedal was thought out well, I can see why it was designed this way.

I've been using this pedal in line with other hand made effects units (Fulltone, Prescription Electronics etc...). My setup goes like this: PRS Custom 22 guitar + RMC Picture Wah + FT FullDrive 2 + Klon Centaur OD + FT Choral Flange + PE Vibe Unit + FT SupaTrem + Maxon AD900 into one of two amps A) Fender Vibro King or B)Bruno Cowtipper 45 2x12 Combo. Generally I gig with the these effects and the Bruno Amp (Loud ass amp), at stage volumes the AD900 outperforms any analogue pedal I've ever used (Boss DM2, Way Huge Aqua Puss, HK Replex and more...) this is not to say it doesn't do well in a studio environment, in fact that's when it really shines! cuz you know how live volumes can effect your sound quality:( however, the AD900 hold up very nicely but it's definitely a studio quality pedal nonetheless. Luckily I was able to try this pedal out at a local music store before buying it and ,with my extensive Analogue delay experiences, this puppy just stood out from the crowd (not a very big one unfortunately). I would describe the character of this pedal to be somewhat "Spongy" sounding, very smooth, never harsh or mangled and muddy. I find that it behaves much differently with each of my amps. With the Fender I get a lustrous sheen to the delayed sound and with the Bruno there's a fat midrangy kinda presence. This id probably more to do with the amps natural tone characteristic more than anything. The best thing is your tone is never compromised with this pedal. Analogue Delays are often very colorful, that's their nature and sometimes they add their own funk to the effected delay sound. The Memory Man is known for this type of coloration, and that's a good thing but the AD900 sounds pure and marries itself with your existing tone. Much like anything, if your tone sucks to begin with than pedals will not correct it. I play Classic Rock and Blues, this pedal does it's job and oh man! does it sound great! It's quite not hissy at all, you don't even know that it's on until the first note is played. Works excellent when I drive it with my overdrive pedals, completely fattens up my tone, Great for solo work just the way I like it Fat, Warm and Clean.

I've had it for about 3 months now and use it on gigs 4 times a week (at least) 3-4 hours a night not to mention practice sessions... Seems to be pretty rugged but I never gig without a backup. Currently My Aqua Puss hold that spot and I might pick up another AD900 if I can find one.

no experience.

Fantastic Analogue Delay. I have finally found my perfect setup, this pedal compliments and adds wonderfully to it! and I don't wish it had a 9v batt. because then it wouldn't be this exact pedal ,the one I'm nutz over, anymore. Analogue Rules!

Just got it yesterday! I had it up and running within minutes...there are 3 adjustable peramiters, you know them already so I'll stop there. The manual which came with the unit is simple and to the point, it's a combines manual with the entire Maxon "Vintage" series effects. There are some sample settings which help out but for the most part you just need to adjust to taste. This unit is packed full of goodness under the hood, there are like 6 adjustable trim-pot peramiters mounted on the board surrounded by four MN3008 Panasonic chips (now defunct). But the factory settings sound great outta the box and don't need any fine tuning IMO.

Anyway, there's lots of versitility in this little pink cream puff! tons of sweet spots can be dialed in...my setup goes like this Fender American Strat (stock pups) or Gibson Standard Les Paul (Classic 57's)>>FT Clyde Wah>>FT Fulldrive 2>> Z-VEX Fuzz Factory>>Diaz Tremadillo>>Maxon AD-900 >> 59 Bassman Reissue or Bogner Shiva combo w/reverb. Sounds very excellant, rich tones ooze outta thin pedal. Just what I expected, clean fat and round. There's no muddiness to be found here...I've put the AD-900 head to head against a DD5, and my friends Way Huge Aqua Puss...well let me tell ya, the AD-900 distroys the DD5 in terms of warmth and character (DIGITAL DELAYS SUCK HARD). The Aqua-Puss held it's own against the Maxon however seemed to lacked a certain roundness on the tappered delays. Even my friend agreed the Maxon sounded just a bit sweeter and has 300ms of extra delay time to boot! He's looking to buy one too, as soon as he can afford it, hopefully before they're all gone...in any case, the AD-900 is definately a real winner!

Miticulously constructed.

No Experience

Excellant Analog Delay. I've been playing guitar for over 25 years and I've never come accross an Anolog Delay with this much versitility, not to mention character...It's hard to find a nice anolag delay now days that has over 300ms of delay time and doesn't muddy up your tone. The Maxon AD-900 puts out some mouth watering sounds with wonderful clearity. I couldn't say that this pedal is an outstanding value, I mean it really costs too much IMO but at the end of the day, after enjoying the natural warm sound quality this pedal has to offer, it's worth every penny...Grab one, you will love it!

This is just an update to My previous reveiw. I had mentioned the AD-900 comes with either 4 MN3005 or 2 MN3008 Panasonic Chips, that's not true it's the other way around. I beleive theree are two configurations out there it's either 4 MN3008's or 2 MN3005's... sorry for the mix-up! I opened the unit last night and reolized mine cam loaded with 4 MN3008 chips which ,I gather, are half the delay time as the MN3005 but as mentioned before: Both chips have been discontinued by Panasonic. If you haven't had a chance to try this Gem yet let me assure you these chips sound wonderfull, the unit really costs an assload but well worth it! Anyway, just an update! Please e-mail me with any questions or your Favorite settings...

Very easy to use. 3 knobs figure it out...

I've got this pedal in the effects loop of My Mesa RectoVerb 50 allong with a Fulltone Choral Flange. Sounds Warm NOT muddy at all. The dude that says this thing sounds muddy is surely insane! This pedal Sounds exactly the way an anolog Delay was ment to sound and even better. This pedal has 600ms of delay time which derives from 2 MN3008 chips or 4 MN3005 chips. I'm not sure but, there seems to be two versions of this pedal. I have the 4 chips, both Panasonic chip models have been discontinues nontheless. Anyway, the pedal Works great with distortion pedals like Fulldrive 2 and Vintage Rat as well as SIB Vari Drive. This pedal sounds incredable, it nails the vintage analog sound to a T!

Seems to be built well. The switch operation is smooth and quite. Should last a long time..

N/A

These pedals are very Rare and they will not be anymore made after this run due to the now discontinued MN3005 and MN3008 Panasonic chips. I'm so glad I've had a chance to get one. What a sweet Sweet pedal. Get one if you can... Highly recommended for sure!

Very easy. Three knobs. Delay time,Repeats,Mix.

Dont know why anyone would give this a bad rating unless they have no idea what a great ANALOG delay is supposed to sound like. This is the most awesome tone. There is alot of versatility in the box also. This box can do just about anything you want it to with 600ms of delay. Prices have went through the roof on this delay pedal. It would be hard to pay $400 dollars for this box. I got mine off ebay for alot less. It was soooo worth it. It is by far my favorite analog delay pedal. I also have to AD-80. Thats another review. I do not notice any mudding of my sound. Switching is awesome. You cant even tell you kicked it on untill you play a bar. ZERO noise on or off. One of the sweetest analog delay pedals you can buy. Guitar player magazine also gave this a Pick Award and gave it high praise in the November 2001 issue. One of the main reasons i tried this pedal. Boy am i glad i did.

I have talked with Godlyke and they seem like some great people. Very willing to help with anything i needed. Quick responce time also.

With the price i paid i'm will say it is a great value. The only thing i have against it is the aweful wall wart. You think they could of found a 9volt solution. O well. It at least comes with the wall wart. If it were lost i would have to buy another and probally pay way to much for it. It works well for all styles of music its a delay pedal.
I have played for 12 years now and this is by far the best analog delay a have tried. I will say i have only tried a few but why bother to try more now. The only other one i want to try is the Way Huge pedal. You may want to do the same. I have heard good things about it. If you can find one.

There are 3 knobs: Delay Time, Repeat, and Delay Level, very straightforward. Delay range is 40msec to 600msec.

I used a PRS custom and a Les Paul Standard through a couple of amps; a Mesa/Boogie Single Recto 50, a Marshall JCM 800, an Ampeg B15, a Fender Bassman 10 and even a Line 6 POD. This pedal sounded awesome through every one of them, producing an effect ranging from just noticeable to heavy echo. This unit is also designed to feedback when you have the repeat and mix maxed out, which can be really cool at times. The unit is not as quiet as a digital delay, but noise is nothing major. Although the AD900 is not true bypass, it is an FET buffered circuit, and when the effect was off I did not notice any signal loss at all.

The large housing design is the same as Ibanez's/Maxon's from the '70s. Looks and feels solid and should last a long time, but I really can't say because I have had it for only 2 months. Inside, the circuit is laid out nice and clean. This makes it easy to work on in case of failure. I noticed on mine that there are 4 of the MN3008 chips not the advertised 2. I know that some of these came with 2 of the MN3005 chips, and I've read that the MN3005 allows for twice the delay time as the MN3008 so it makes sense that mine has 4.

Kevin at Godlyke (Maxon's North American distributor) has been really responsive to my emails. I had a few questions when I first bought the unit and he replied within the same day.

I play music from all different backgrounds, jazz, rock, r&b, blues etc., and this pedal works well throughout. I compared this side by side to the Boss DD5 and there is a huge difference, the AD900 sounds much thicker. Of course the AD900's repeats have less top end than the DD5 but I definitely would not say this pedal is muddy. I also compared the AD900 to the Ibanez AD9 and the sound was close, however the AD9 seemed to sound a bit more compressed. The only thing I don't like about this pedal is that a wall wart powers it exclusively, and being that it is a 12-volt supply, replacements may be harder to find than the standard 9-volt version. I know a circuit like this probably eats batteries like crazy, but I think Maxon could have made a better design with a built in regulated power supply instead of the wall wart. For this I am only giving it a 9. Analog delays are not as in your face as their digital counterparts. They have less high end and degrade with each successive repeat. Many digital delays sound as though you were gradually turning down the volume with each repeat. For this reason analog delays are liked or disliked. Some say they are muddy, others say they are warm. Let your ears decide. There are not many choices for analog delays that have a longer delay time than 300msec(typical max for analog delays), certainly not in this price range. I purchased this pedal for $305 with tax, a used Aqua Puss is going for $400+ and is only approx 300msec max delay time. The Mooger Fooger has 800 msec but it costs $600. The AD900 is definitely an excellent delay with a great tone offering a wide range of delay time at a relatively reasonable price.

Simple to use. Plug it in and go.

I use an ESP Vintage Strat Plus and an ESP MH-201 with a Marshall JCM 600 a Crate Vintage Clubman 50 (The Old blond one not the new black one) and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe that i have modded. This pedal is quiet as they come. The delay sounds good regaurdless of the setting. Its very warm and capable of whatever setting I need. I give it a nine cause no delay sounds perfect without tubes or tape.

Havent had it very long but the case is cast aluminum and when I inspected the insides it seemed well built. I would take it too a gig without a backup if I did'nt have one. And after the $400.00 I paid for this I'm glad I do have a back up cause I damn shure can't afford one now.

I have never delt with Maxon customer support but have herd and read good things.

I play blues to Metal and lots of leads. I have been playing for about 25 years started at 12. If it were lost? I won't lose it barring a natural disaster. If it were stolen? I would hunt down the creatin and mame his sorry ass. The ease of use use and quality of sounds are awesome. I talked to the guy who owns musictoyz or gaspedal.com and he said ther are about 100 of these left in the states and thats it no more. I can't think of a pedal delay to compare this too the closest to quality and sound would be the Boss or the Ibanez 9 series but they dont come real close.

Pretty easy to use, 3 knobs:- D-Time, Repeat & D-Level. Pity there are no numbers or markings to help you find a particular setting again. Knobs are loose enough to be easily twisted in transport, so fun finding the "exact setting" again.
A rather over-sized box (1/2 empty) & there is plenty of space inside for a 9v battery or even two, but this has not been provided for - it runs with the wall wart only :-(
Despite the AD-900 name and earlier review below, this anolog delay has a capability of up to 600 ms, not 900 ms.
I agree with the earlier reviewer though, that (suprisingly, and despite all my expectations) "300ms is plenty" :- all the classic rock echo sounds can be got without using the extra long delays that the 600 ms can provide. I tried a lot of experimentation, but in practice on gigs I found myself never going past the 1/2 way mark on the D-Time knob.

Using this with a '64 Strat with Fralins, in the FX loop (also tried it before the input) of a Dr. Z "Maz Junior" or with a Fender Pro Junior. A big dissapointment. I've had several echos / delays in my 30 years of playing, including the old 'tape' echos, both tube and solid state, and more recently a Chandler delay. I know Analog Delays are supposed to be "warm" but this is just plain muddy. NOTHING like as clear as, say , the much hyped Way Huge "Aqua Puss" - I wouldn't mind betting someone at Maxon has put a high pass filter in here to try to emphasise the "vintage" sound, ...and totally screwed it. There is so much loss of treble on the delayed signal that you have to turn the mix right up when you need to hear a clear repeat, and then it interferes with your playing. Bummer. This means that the AD 900 can only be used where you want a really pronounced echo "effect", not just left on to enhance the sound, as it just "muddys" everything too much.
Opening the box reveals 11 (yes, eleven!) miniature pre-set pots, maybe one of these can be tweaked to reduce the loss of treble, I dunno. Don't really want to try in case I make matters even worse. Anyone have any ideas?

Seems pretty typical Maxon/Ibanez quality, so I guess it'll be good for a few years, although I've only had it two and a half months. I've actually stopped using it on gigs because of the poor sound quality of the repeats, but on the couple of dozen or so I used it on it functioned OK, although the "wall wart" is a pain and came out a few times, which completely cuts the guitar signal (i.e. no true by-pass, so no power to AD 900 = no sound at all from your amp when its in your signal path).
I'd go without a backup as I can play OK without any delay/echo.

Got a quick response from Mutsuo Kishida at Maxon / NISSHIN ONPA CO., LTD. when I enquired about this. He said Maxon can't deal with the public, but he put me in touch with retailers. I don't speak any Japanese, so lucky he has prerfect English.

I play rock, blues, pop and country, some originals, some covers, in different bands, gigging 2-4 nights a week, and have been playing 30 years. I mainly used this is the FX loop of my Dr. Z amp, sometimes with a Demeter 'Tremulator'. I also use a Klon Centaur pro overdrive. It didn't make any difference whether I use this alone or as above, the delayed signal suffers from far too much loss of treble, so that it really muddies the sound. In the end - after a couple of dozen or more gigs fighting with it - I decided it is just more trouble than its worth, and its been left at home since. If anyone can tell me which pre-set to alter to get back the 'top end', I'll give it another try.
Luckily I got this at the equivalent of US$167, which is a LOT cheaper than I see it's going for on US web sites. Still wasn't worth it.
I'm not prepared to pay US$400 for a 2nd hand 'Aqua Puss', so I guess I'll have to just wait for Atomic (aka Future Analog Technologies, maker of the " F.A.T. Multi-Scream" TS 808 clone much hyped on www.musictoyz.com) to bring out their 'Echo Clone" ...apparently they bought up all the old surplus circuit boards for the Aqua Puss from Way Huge and are due to re-release it (for US$275) in August (2001).
I'm keeping my fingers crossed !

Standard 3-knob analog delay configuration: delay time, number of repeats, and mix level. This delay features 900ms of delay time and is in the bigger sized box like the early maxon pedals (and some even had the ibanez name). Go to this link for a picture: http://www.zyband.com/ad-900.jpg The knobs are large enough that you could put a rubber cap over the knob like they used to do on the MXR pedals, and turn it with your foot to increase/decrease one or maybe two of the knobs. Since these knobs are farther apart it would be even easier to use in this fashion.

Not giving a 10 here, but may upgrade in the future. It sounds very good, I have not had the chance to compare it to the smaller 300ms version the AD-80. I did have the Ibanez circa 1982 AD-9 pedal, which was good but maybe a little muddy. It's been a long time since I played thru the ibanez delay... I do have some recordings, however. The Maxon pedal is replacing a boss DM-2, which I've been using the last few years. I will do a side by side comparison and come back to this another time. For now, I would describe the maxon ad-900 as warm but not muddy (trying to avoid using that "t" adjective but I think it's inevitable). I find the Boss DM-2 to be a little on the muddy side, and not in a warm toneful way. The AD-900 is supposed to have two of the famous Panasonic MN3008 bucket brigade to get you the 900ms, hence the hefty price tag.

Hopefully, the bbd chips won't wear out anytime soon, other then that any of the web pedal gurus should be able to fix it if it started to crackle or something. I supposed if it broke in the next two years, I would contact Kevin at Godlyke distributing. He's responsoive to emails (we had a lengthy discussion about the true-bypass "mystique" ;-). This pedal does not have a mechanical 3PDT, it uses an FET circuit. Kevin assured me that Maxon's circuit is done well. And with the size of this box, I'd be able to change it to such a switch if I needed to. No numerical rating yet as it is an early review. Will come back to this after it sees more gigs, but I'd say the constuction is pretty solid.

Very helpful, see maxonfx.com for the US distributor, ask for Kevin. I also emailed the sales guy over in Japan at Nisshin Onpa (www.maxon.co.jp), he was responsive as well. Certainly NOT like dealing with a huge Japanese company that makes everything from satellites to coffee machines... know what I mean, boss?? I mean they might have a huge parent company, but they seem accessible.

I play blues rock type stuff, am influenced by Cream, Hendrix, and 70's rock stuff. Some of the new stuff is good, but in NY/NJ you gotta look hard, it surely isn't played on the radio :-) OK, back to the AD-900. Nice pedal. A little pricy, I think I got a good (relatively) quoted price because I pre-ordered it, I was looking on the web just now, and it seems to be up closer to $400 now that they are in stock. They probably weren't getting a good enough markup on it! If cost is a serious issue, then look at the Maxon AD-80, 300ms is plenty, I probably won't use the longer delay times often anyway, but I wanted to splurge on this one. I've been sick of waiting for a decent analog delay. I figure if I get a good buck for the DM-2 on ebay, that will recover some of the high price. I'll probably get almost as much for the DM-2 as I paid used for the loaded boss carrying case and two extra pedals back during the rack mount craze :-) I use a 60's strat and an 80's dean or hamer with excalibur cables into a pedal board with, these days, all fulltone stuff except for a pro-co rat for heavier sounds (been eyeing the maxon distortion master as a replacement for the rat). The amp is either a dumble-esque Fuchs Overdrive Supreme, or Holland Magma head. So this clear sounding delay is a nice addition to this rig. P.S. I listened to the sound clips on the way huge website and the maxon pedal's echoed tone sounds better to my ears then the aqua puss.